Pet-Friendlier Lawn Care

Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD
Holistic Veterinarian
PetStyle

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the most extensive research to date on the impacts of environmental toxins on children's health. The report indicates that over 30% of childhood diseases can be linked to exposure to environmental toxins. According to WHO researchers, 13 million human deaths could be prevented annually by improving the environment.

While the WHO report deals specifically with the human animal, not pets, we know that many of these same effects do occur in non-human animals. Much like children, our pets have an increased risk of exposure to toxins on a lawn, as they are low to the ground, spend a lot of time rolling in the grasses, chew on almost anything they find in the lawn, and their metabolic rate is higher than an adult's. In addition, our pets don't get bathed every day, and chronic dermal contact can add up to overall doses that may be lethal.

There are literally dozens of herbicides (plant killers), insecticides (bug killers), and fertilizers available today, most of which can be purchased and used indiscriminately by lawn owners everywhere. According to one report, 67 million pounds of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) are applied to roughly 30 million acres of lawns in the U.S. each year. Despite manufacturers' claims to the contrary, all of these pesticides have some potential to cause bodily harm, and some of them can be downright lethal. Pesticides are, after all, formulated to kill living organisms, and the gap between the dose that is lethal to pests and the dose that is toxic or lethal to man or beast may be very small.

The Effects of Exposure
It's important to appreciate that exposure to toxins can occur from ingesting the substances, from breathing in their vapors, or from skin contact. It's been shown that exposure to a toxin around an animal's groin has about the same impact as injecting that toxin directly into that animal's blood stream.

The list of health problems that can occur with exposure to many commonly available lawn-care products seems endless. Acute poisonings can cause skin and eye irritation, rapid heartbeat, difficulty in breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, and nervous symptoms such as dizziness, twitching, spasms, or seizures. In cases where pets fatally poisoned by pesticides, most are due to exposure to products commonly available in any lawn and garden store.

Perhaps even worse than acute poisonings are the chronic cases that result from long-term exposure to even low levels of pesticides. In many cases, this type exposure to toxins is insidious, with initial symptoms may be so minor they are disregarded as insignificant. Only after long-term exposure has resulted in some chronic disease does the pet's owner begin to suspect that the cause might be exposure to toxic chemicals.

Exposure to pesticides over time has been shown to increase the incidences of: skin and digestive allergies; a variety of cancers; neurological disturbances; birth defects and genetic alterations; and reproductive and hormonal problems. Exposure has also been implicated in a host of chronic conditions, such as: arthritis, hypo- or hyperthyroid, inflammatory bowel disease, epilepsy, and many others.

The perverse clincher of all this is its absolute absurdity. In most areas and under most conditions, the use of toxic chemicals for lawn care is totally unnecessary. There are organic and green methods of maintaining a healthy lawn that, compared to potentially toxic chemical use, are much cheaper, more effective in the long run, and infinitely safer.

When Your Pet has Symptoms
Symptoms to look for when your pet has been exposed to toxins from lawn-care products include: skin and eye irritations; nervous symptoms including twitching, spasms or seizures; excess salivation; and digestive symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea.

Remember that many of the symptoms of pesticide toxicity are initially mild and may go unnoticed, but exposure over time may lead to long-term, chronic conditions, Long term effects can include many dermal, neurological, hormonal, immune-mediated, and inflammatory diseases. The important message is: Don't overlook the mild symptoms.

Immediate medical attention is required anytime your pet's symptoms are severe or whenever they persist for more than a few hours. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, exposure to the types of chemicals listed below are more likely to require immediate medical attention. All are common in lawn-care and pet parasite-control products - even in household cleansers. Again, while based on human research, similar statistics could be expected for our pets.

Organophosphates and Carbamates - These are insecticides that work by disrupting the normal flow of nerve impulses. Toxic symptoms seen in pets (and people) are typically those related to nervous function: dizziness, twitching, spasms, seizures and eventually death.
Pyrethrins/pyrethroids - Also common in insecticides. There are several hundred of these, both natural (from Chrysanthemum flowers) and synthetic, and their degree of potential toxicity varies considerably. Before you use any of these, check with a knowledgeable person, someone who understands the concern about toxicities, as well as the ability of the substance to kill insects.
Hypochlorite Disinfectants and Organochlorines - Routinely found in household cleansers such as common household bleach (Clorox®). Their toxicities are primarily related to irritation of the lungs after breathing in their fumes.
Phenoxy Herbicides - Herbicides work by disrupting the biochemical balance in selective plants. Some of the phenoxy herbicides have been heavily implicated as having the potential for forming cancers in animals, including the human animal.
Anticoagulant Rodenticides - Rat and rodent killers that prevent normal blood clotting, allowing the animal to bleed to death internally. Toxicities can result from direct ingestion or ingesting a rodent or other animal that has died from a lethal dose.

The following are chemicals that have been especially problematic for pets:

Paraquat - A restricted-use herbicide (plant killer), meaning that it should be used by licensed operators only. Nonetheless, a few years ago paraquat poisoning caused the deaths of at least seven dogs in Portland, Oregon. Paraquat is so deadly to mammals; it has become popular as a suicide drug. Despite its limited use restrictions in this country, I found several Internet sites where I could apparently purchase it quite easily from European sources - always under a label that proclaimed it as being perfectly safe to use.
Metaldehyde - A common ingredient in commercial snail and slug baits in the United States. It can be lethal to pets.

Protect Yourself and Your Pet
Even if you look out for these dangerous chemicals, you still need to be on your guard. Pesticide manufacturers are notorious for trying to confuse us by changing the names of the chemicals they use. It is easy -- and perfectly legal -- to use one of many, very long chemical names to describe a substance, thus hiding its better-known common name. Anytime you can't pronounce the name of the substance listed on the label, you'd better be suspicious and you're probably better off not using the product.

Toxic chemicals can be hard to avoid, as they may drift onto your property when neighbors use them on their lawns. Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself and your pet when you neighbors use chemicals:

Request that the offending neighbors give you at least 48-hour notice before the chemicals will be applied.
Ask your neighbors, or the company that will be applying the chemicals, to provide you with a complete list of chemicals to be used, so you can inform your health care provider if your pet is exposed. You have a right to this information.
Educate your neighbors. Help them see the potential for harm and how easy it can be to take care of lawns organically.

The Safer Choice is Organic
Organic lawn care is surprisingly easy and safe for children and pets. Basic principles include:

Learn to relax. Don't overreact at the first sign of a weed or bug. And, be patient. Natural control methods are usually very effective, but they may take some time.
Weed and harvest. Dig dandelion roots and use them for preventing liver and kidney conditions. Other weeds also have medicinal value that you can harvest and use for free.
Mulch and fertilize naturally. The easiest way to fertilize the lawn is to mow at a high setting and let the clippings fall on the lawn where they act as a natural fertilizer. Mulching once a year decreases weeds in beds.

Some of my favorite lawn "weeds" are actually healthy herbals, including dandelion, purslane, chickweed, cleavers, and plantain. In fact, many common-variety lawn weeds are some of the best of the medicinal herbs. They can be harvested for free right from your backyard to enhance your pet's health, assuming your lawn is organic and not loaded with toxic chemicals.

Homegrown "weedy herbs" have many advantages, including:

No cost - you can harvest them for free.
You know how and where they were grown.
Give you a sense of empowerment. Grown your own and reap the physical benefits of working outside. Use them to enhance your health and feel good about leaving a friendlier footprint on the planet.
Weeds can also serve as natural indicators. Certain weed species grow in soils that are either heavy or deficient in soil-borne nutrients. Learn the weeds' soil preferences and you'll have an indication for what you can do to add needed nutrients. This will lead to decreasing weed populations and giving you a better soil for the long term.

Controlling Pests
Most pests are easily brought under control by the natural workings of beneficial bugs. Here are some ways you can help:

Learn which bugs are beneficial and which ones are pests in your area. Your local government may be able to help. They know the pests, even if they do rely on chemicals to control them.
Encourage the beneficial bugs by planting multiple plant species. Pests love monocultures, and multiple species give the beneficial bugs a place to live and thrive.
Beneficial bugs can be purchased from many organic gardening sources
Use plant species that are pest resistant.
Physical controls like traps, barriers, fabric row covers, or repellants may work for many pest species, and some can be picked off plants manually.
Less toxic products like soaps, horticultural oils, and plant-based insecticides are now available that work for many problems.
Do not use chemical insecticides that kill all bug species, including the beneficial ones, indiscriminately.

If you live in a pet- and child-friendly family, think twice -- even three times -- before using any lawn-care product that could potentially be toxic. And, if you absolutely must use chemicals for control of pests, start with the least toxic ones, spot apply them where possible, and read and abide by all package instructions. Keep pets (and children) off the treated lawn for several days and avoid prolonged contact for several weeks after application. Watch for even slight indications of toxicity, and see your vet if you detect any.